Honoring Howard Cole

Matt's grandfather passed away yesterday while surrounded by his family. Grampy will be sorely missed by both of us, and by his entire family. Although we're not related by blood, he was the only grandfather I have ever known, and he and Matt had a very strong relationship and many, many memories together.

Grampy would have celebrated his 93 birthday this May. He lived a long and full life, and he and Nanie frequenly counted their blessings. His passing, although very sad, was relatively quick and without struggle... what Grampy would have wanted.

We will miss him very much, and are so happy we all got to spend a lot of time with him. He added a lot to our lives, and touched the lives of many others.

Spring - FINALLY!

We are so excited to finally be experiencing some beautiful spring weather. Yesterday it was only about 70 degrees and people were wearing shorts and flip flops. Yes, it's been a long, long Maine winter and everyone's ready for some nice warm weather! I guess that means I need to start shaving more than once a week - a tradeoff I'll have to live with.

So, the past week or so has been extremely busy, so I wasn't able to keep up with my weekly minimum blogging schedule. The next week looks less busy so I'll be back at it again soon, hopefully. The week was busy mainly due to work. So, with extra hours it was really hard to fit in my exercise goals, but better luck next week. I did get out for a fun, muddy run on the trails Thursday - in shorts, no less!

Payson has started to get really interested in shoes. Check out this cute picture of her in her little red crocks!

Our weekend (4/12-4/13) was fun - Saturday we started out the day by attending a multi-family consignment sale in Wells, and then we hung out with the Smiths at our house. It was supposed to rain all day, but luckily the meterologists have been wrong more lately than ever! It was gorgeous, and we spent a lot of time outside - Alison taught Payson how to puddle stomp, and we took them for a walk in the wagon at the local Moutain Division Trail. The girls even enjoyed an alfresco snack on the deck!

We discovered Alison & Payson have learned how to hug each other. It is the cutest thing I have ever witnessed.

Sunday we went to Windham High School to celebrate Owen's third birthday. Owen is the son of our daycare provider, Nikki, and she hosted a soccer party complete with custom made t-shirts for all the kiddos! Payson and Alison wore their shin guards we found at the Wells consignment sale the day before. Pretty funny! Payson had a great time running around, although I was a little concerned she'd get bonked in the head with a soccer ball. A couple close calls, but my fears weren't realized. Will I always be such a worry wart? (In my defense, she was the littlest, newest, wobbliest walker there...)

All the kiddos lined up for a picture (Payson kept running out of it!). Owen's holding the soccer ball.

Here's a couple more cute pictures from our week:

On Monday I took Payson to our local library, not really thinking there'd be much for us to read or do. I was wrong! They had an entire board book section, toys, easels... and we happened upon a story time! It was geared towards older kids but we were told we could join anyways. Payson did pretty well; she was mesmerized by the other kids. I wish there were more activities for kids her age on Mondays; they have a 6-24 mo. story time on Tuesdays, but I'm working then. I'm surprised at the lack of stuff to do on Mondays, in general, around here. You'd think that there'd be lots to do as most moms who don't work full time probably take Mondays or Fridays off. There's lots on Fridays, and hardly anything on Mondays! Oh well. We always manage to find something to do!

We spent lots of time outside Monday, too - here, Payson encourages the daffodils to come out to welcome spring!

As for other news, I was notified about a week and a half ago that I am the recipient of an Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Merit Award! This is a once in a lifetime award that I, along with several other longstanding committee members, am receiving for my eight year involvement as an organizing committee member on the Southern Maine Children's Water Festival. I am so honored and humbled by the recognition, and Matt and I will be heading down to Faneuil Hall in Boston on Earth Day (April 22) for the awards ceremony. I'll let you know how it goes!

Fat Ass Victory!

I have finally come in first at a road race. Below was my esteemed prize.

On Saturday, April 5th we attended the Steep Falls Fat Ass 5K at my friend Christine's - they think this is the third or fourth year. Her husband TJ is the race director - he puts on a great race for a free entry fee! All the free tap water you can drink, and prizes like the one above. Actually, I am pretty sure Christine passed the finish line before me, but for some reason she didn't want the prize.

All kidding aside, TJ did measure the 5K (=3.1 m for you non runners) with a wheel, and although Christine and I ran together and talked the entire way, our first mile was around 7:35 adn we finished in about 23:40. I was really suprised that I can still run that fast with what little I am doing. Unfortnately, I didn't bring my camera so I don't have more pics of the day - the pancake breakfast was great and it was wonderful to see some of my old running buddies again.

Saturday afternoon we just hung out and played outside, which is getting to be more and more fun. I even completed the inaugural poop patrol, which is quite necessary now that Payson is roaming the lawn.

Sunday was supposed to be nice weather, but it was freezing. Before we knew that, we decided to meet the Smiths and the Haniskos at a local playground. We called the Kramers, too, but it was poor Leah's weekend to be sick. We still had fun, but couldn't stay too long. Brrr!

Brady & Payson. ("Hey, don't our parents know it's freezing out here?!?!")

We went back to our house with the Smiths to warm up! The girls had a ton of fun jumping in Payson's crib! They are making us laugh a lot these days. What wild girls!

Payson's new thing is opening her mouth wide when she gets excited - here, she "talks" to Mimi on the phone. Pretty cute!

Payson and I went to another playground on Monday and enjoyed the swings. Other than that, I think I've come to the conclusion normal playgrounds aren't great for toddlers. Oh well.

That's it for now! Hope everyone is having a good week.

First Hair Cut!

Payson's feeling all better after her sickness last weekend, thank goodness. On Monday we went on a relatively long run together - 45 minutes! Payson fell asleep, but I was pretty excited I ran that long, with a baby jogger to boot! I felt badly leaving Zoe at home, but I didn't think she'd do so well on the roads considering her recent road running behavior, and that, a stoller, and a toddler were too much to contend with. Yoga was cancelled Monday night, so I'm looking forward to it for next week.

Here's Payson before our run, in trusy old BOB (no, we're not so lame that we named our stroller, that's the name brand. Matt thinks it stands for "Baby on Board.") She doesn't look too jazzed - I think it must have been because she was tired. She fell asleep soon afterward.

Tuesday was busy, considering it was during our already chaotic work week. Payson's 15 month appointment was at 3 p.m., and I was excited to go considering her recent sickness and still low appetite. As I had suspected, she had lost a lot of weight from Shirley and Ray's measurement on the prior Friday, which was 20 lbs. 4 oz. She was down to 19 lbs. 7 oz., which made her growth curve plateau. Not good, but they said it was most likely due to the illness and her increased mobility. We are, however, going for another weight check in about a month. We also held off on any shots (yeah!). I still hate those, for a variety of reasons.

Next, we were off to Envy with our favorite stylist, Marcie, whom we have followed to 3 salons over the course of nearly 4 years. She's amazing. First she chopped my shoulder blade lenght hair to about chin length. Then she gave Matt a mohawk (below) before she gave him his nearly buzz cut. Then it was Payson's turn! She did a great job for her first cut - really just a trim in the back to even things up a little so the rest can grown in straighter.

Matt's fleeting mohawk.

Payson's first experience with a cape!

Getting the cut. Marcie gave Payson her water squirt bottle, which worked wonders.

All done! She really doesn't look too different, thank goodness. She's growing up way too quickly these days, and I don't need a older-looking hairstyle to reinforce the fact that she's not a baby anymore. :(

As you can see, I'm writing this on the weekend and will soon post pictures and exciting commentary (ha ha) from our weekend. Check back soon for my debute in the Steep Falls 3rd (or 4th?) annual Fat Ass 5K Road Race!

Of Pukes & Poops

Well, judging from the title I'll bet you can guess we didn't have the healthiest weekend. When I say "we" I mainly mean little Miss Payson. She was fine until Friday night when, after her bedtime nursing, I stood up to put her in her crib and she threw up all over me, several times (sorry to get graphic, but upon washing out our clothes when P and I were in the shower, Matt had to wash vomit out of my socks!). It was a LOT of vomit; I was covered from neck to ankles. Yuck.

So, I tried to nurse her back to sleep after our shower and she threw up all over me... again. So, it was off to the shower again and then to bed, late, with an empty tummy. She was up at night to nurse but it not for too long or too many times, and no more vomiting, thank goodness. Saturday she had a low grade fever, cresting 100 only once, and Sunday she didn't have a fever except at bedtime (99).

The worst part about all of this is that the poor thing isn't eating. It's during times like these, which luckily haven't been too many, that I am so happy I am still nursing Payson. She wouldn't eat anything practically all weekend, and didn't drink much either. Luckily she was very interested in nursing as I know dehydration could be a concern.

However, the exclusive nursing caused poor Matt to revisit the newborn days of poop and blowouts. I went skiing as Matt put Payson down for a nap. As they were reading, Payson had a humungous blow out - up to her armpits. Poor Matt had to strip her down and give her a bath and get her to take her nap, which after all that excitement she wasn't too thrilled about. Good timing on my part! Apparently this all happened about 10 minutes after I left. I felt so badly!

Perhaps as some of you are reading this you are shaking your head in disbelief that I am still nursing Payson. Yes, she's almost 16 months old! Before becoming a (breastfeeding) mom, I never really thought I'd nurse Payson past a year. Not that I was opposed to it, but I just thought I'd nurse to a year and then it would somehow mysteriously stop. But, as life has a way of doing, things have just kind of worked out on their own and here we are, still nursing. Typically, when Payson's healthy, she's only nursing 2 times a day. I am STILL pumping once a day at work, 4 days a week. God, I hate pumping. I'm still doing it because Payson still requests a nursing session after her nap during the weekends, so I feel I need to keep my supply up. I was going to try and distract her this weekend so I could stop pumping and really only nurse 2 times a day, all week, but then she got sick. We'll see for next weekend.

Since I am only nursing so infrequently, my supply has really dwindled. It's really neat that when Payson needs it, my supply bounces right back. In general, it's odd to have a smaller supply because with so many other things in life we're always used to producing more and better - and to have it go down is kind of counterintuitive. But it's natural, and it's really cool that our bodies are designed to do this.

Enough about nursing for now. I will just end by saying I've loved the experience but I am ambivalent about stopping - I am excited to regain some freedom, but also sad about the closeness that will be lost. Payson's not the cuddliest kiddo, so it's nice to have that time together. And it's also great nutrition for the little skinny peanut (and a nice balance for my weight, too!).

Here's the part you really are coming to this blog for - the pictures. As you can see, even though Payson was sick, she certainly wasn't acting like it! We still managed to have a fun weekend, and luckily we didn't have many plans. We did miss out on a playdate with our friends the Kramers but we didn't think it would be best to infect them and little Leah. Hopefully we can reschedule soon.

I was able to meet my exercising goals this week, which I was very excited about! I try to get out 2 out of my 4 working days, and I went on two 40 minute runs this week, a walk on Sat. (my belly was feeling a little weird so I didn't push it), and a 50 min. cross country ski today in gorgeous 40 degree weather. I'm looking forward to running tomorrow with P & Z and to attending my 2nd yoga class!

We have to fit a lot of laundry in on the weekends - Payson helps by wearing it...



..and riding in it! She LOVES riding in the basket!

We took a walk on Saturday - doesn't she looked thrilled?

Good thing Matt has long arms!

Zoe's favorite swimming spot in warmer weather.

These boots were made for walking...

Helping me make corn bread! It actually turned out to be the best I've made. Perhaps it was Payson's skills, or perhaps it was the whole milk (we usually use low fat).

Sunday morning Payson didn't get enough sleep & took an unprecedented nap on the couch while Matt read up on climbing & rigging.

We put some old toys away and brought up some new stuff, like this chair.

This kid loves to be outside, climb stairs, play in the mud, & swing! Can't wait for more warm weather!

We wore poor Matt out. Phew! Dad, are you still alive?

This last picture is of our family quit square that all the families made for daycare this week. We were pretty pleased with how it came out!

Easter Weekend

As you can see, I've changed the look of this blog. It probably won't be the last time as I'm struggling to find a template I like and that I can change the colors of the elements I'd like to. Bear with me as I'm sure I'll change it again soon. Grrrr...

We had a busy but really, really fun weekend! After our walk with Jami, Braydon, and the doggies on the Libby Hill Trails (see my last post), we headed home for Payson's standard post-lunch nap and then got ready to go to Mimi & Papa's for an "Easter Eve" dinner. I've captured some of Payson's newest pasttimes below!

Payson LOVES to play in "her drawers," which typically works out well for us as well if we're getting ready in the bathroom. However, she's getting more skilled now at taking caps on and off, pulling floss, etc. so I don't know how much longer this will last. Then what will we do? (Oh yeah, you can also check out our recently tiled bathroom, courtesy of Matt & Ray! I think it looks GREAT!)

Oh yes, and here's proof that Payson is really walking nowadays. (See the floss? At least she's into oral hygiene.)

Looking cute with dad before we left.

Under dad's legs with some eggs Mimi & Papa dyed. Little did we all know they'd turn Payson's hands blue and green for a couple days!

Practicing crouching skills, eggs still in hands, ears on head. Quite the talents.

Not only is Zoe no longer the center of attention, but we still make her do stupid stuff like wear these bunny ears. She's thrilled, as you can see!

A cute picture of Mimi, Papa, & Payson.

To start off our Easter morning, as I was folding laundry Payson insisted I put several pairs of socks on her feet, pajamas and all. Her personality continues to shine through and it's quite funny! She must know how much Matt and I loved the '80s.

We headed to Merrifield Farm in Gorham for Maine Maple Sunday. We were joined by Nanie and Grampy Plummer and we had a great time! Payson especially loved looking at all the animals, and Nanie was happy to take her back and forth between the bulls, calf, and the pigs. It was freezing, but we managed to choke down ice cream topped with maple syrup. Yum!

Matt & Payson in the sugar shack.

Payson and I hopped on a cart pulled by 2 bulls. I'm pretty sure it was not OSHA approved as we almost fell off the back going up this steep hill. Payson loved it though; she mooed at the bulls and squealed as we bumped along the frozen road.

After that eventful morning, we went home for the lunch/nap routine and then went over to our friends the Heslers for Easter dinner and play time. Christine and TJ have 2 little girls, Delaney who is almost 4 and Allie who is 2. They had a blast playing together!

The fabric tube was a huge hit (Allie left, Delaney right). I would love to get one!

Payson really enjoyed it!

... and Christine and I had fun, too, although we couldn't fit in the tube together!

The Easter Bunny brought the Hesler girls a new ATWagon!

The Easter Bunny didn't really bring Payson anything. In fact, we didn't really have the "Easter spirit" until the weekend started. I guess we should start getting into these holidays as Payson's starting to (kind of?) "get" what's going on. I'll have to deal with religion, too, I suppose, because I personally feel like we should know what the holiday actually signifies and not just celebrate it for the candy, icons, etc. But that's a subject for another time.

I am really enjoying blogging, although I am getting a little obsessed. Maybe it will wear off once I find a layout I like! Poor Matt, he thinks I'm nuts. He's actually asleep now as I type this. Guess I should head to bed, too.

As an aside, I like to report on my exercising accomplishments in this blog as it's a good way to keep me motivated. I went to my first of 6 yoga classes with Jami last night through Windham Adult Ed. Stacy is signed up, too, but poor Alison was sick again and Stacy couldn't make it. It felt really great, but wasn't a great workout per se. I still enjoyed it tremendously. After work today Zoe and I went on a 35 minute run. For some reason Zoe lags behind me on road runs, which drives me NUTS as I'm running down the road dragging this hunting dog with supposed amazing endurance behind me. If I get her on the trails, she's fine. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the road salt and sand irritating her paws. Maybe she's just rather be on the trails.

Anyways, I'm off to bed. Love any comments, either on the blog or via email. Let me know what you like and what you don't!